


i’ll love some littler things

by lilaclavenders



Series: a burning hill [8]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen, M/M, Post-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Sokka (Avatar)-centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:20:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26204818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilaclavenders/pseuds/lilaclavenders
Summary: A random collection of moments of the journey Zuko and Sokka take around the kingdoms.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: a burning hill [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1894720
Comments: 9
Kudos: 83





	1. i) the fire nation / the beginning

“You may enter,” A guard booms, but not without a flickering ghost of a smile. “Though... I’m sure you could’ve gone about this in an easier way.”

Sokka tilts his head and frowns in slight confusion. “Thanks,” he nods.

The doors open and Sokka loosens up his shoulders as he walks a brisk pace towards the centre of the room, where it is silent apart from the faint sounds of rustling paper and grumbles.

“State your name and presence,” a bored voice echoes from behind a curtain. A page turns. “Uh, Please.”

“Your majesty,” Sokka begins, “I am just a humble Southern Water Tribe peasant, and may I say, it is an absolute honour being here, in your presence-“

“Mhm.” Another page turns. “Yes?”

“And- and I wanted to have an audience with his majesty, if he is not too busy, of course,” Sokka nervously continues, his heart racing.

“Wait.” Sokka stifles a laugh at the sound of dozens, maybe hundreds of papers dropping everywhere, and the figure behind the curtain starting to clumsily clamber out. “Sokka?”

“Hey,” Sokka says, marvelling at the way Zuko glows, his hair longer than it was when he left him, and Sokka immediately notices that he’s taller too. _Much taller_. “It’s... really good to see you.”

Zuko’s shoulders slump in relief as he makes his way towards Sokka, his robe trailing loosely behind him, hanging by the crooks of his arms. He sighs, “You would not believe how boring it’s been without you.”

Sokka laughs, wrapping his arms around Zuko and his very, _very_ toned arms, and says, “Well, you’re in luck! I heard you needed someone with _major_ sword skills to accompany you,” He pulls back to find the gleam in Zuko’s eyes, and continues, “And I know just the person!”

“Well, that’s really lucky, huh?” Zuko says, smiling, with the realisation that he was lucky to have been born, but only because he happened to exist at the same time as Sokka. He softly adds, “I don’t know what I would’ve done without your expertise.”

”Yeah,” Sokka replies, dazed, biting the inside of his cheek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Uh,” Katara says. “I know Sokka said he wanted to tell Zuko we arrived, but it’s been an hour and we still have all of his bags...”
> 
> Aang laughs, “I told him it would’ve been faster if I just flew up there myself!”
> 
> Toph shakes her head. “You’re all so blind sometimes - I always wonder how you managed to get anything done before you met me.”


	2. ii) the north pole

“I know how hard it is for you to be here,” Arnook says quietly as he sits himself down next to Sokka. “I understand if you want to leave as soon as possible.

Sokka tears his gaze away from the pond for a brief second and shrugs. “I think she’d be sad if I didn’t visit, you know?”

“Yes, but I never should’ve put that much pressure on you- Sokka, you were 15 years old,” Arnook apologises, and Sokka is reminded of how his father cried as soon as he found Sokka after Sozin’s comet, all battered and bruised - but alive. “It was my fault for not being there.” 

“It’s okay,” Sokka shrugs, lazily watching the spirits swim. “You were doing what was best for her, and the tribe.”

“Sometimes, what I thought was best for the tribe wasn’t always best for me and my family.” Arnook places a hand on Sokka’s shoulder. “But I trust my daughter’s judgement, and so I shall trust yours.” He nods towards Zuko with a graceful smile. 

“I- Uh,” Sokka begins, his face beginning to heat up. 

“You don’t have to feel guilty because you’ve moved on and grown,” Anrook says. “Surely, as a man of the water nation, you should know to embrace the changes life brings.”

“Oh,” Sokka responds, at a loss; Anrook laughs at his eloquence.

“Yue had always been a very spiritual being,” Arnook quietly says, “She told me once, in order to love the moon and the gift of the night, you must also learn to love the sun and the intensity of her light.”

”I see.” Sokka lets out a breath he didn’t realise he was holding in. He watches the reflection of the moon come into focus, and lets the first of his tears surface. “Thank you,” he whispers, looking up.


	3. iii) ba sing se

“You’ve come a long way,” Iroh says with a smile, watching Zuko apologetically greet a man with a cabbage stand whose rage dissipates as soon as he realises who Zuko is.

“The journey to Ba Sing Se wasn’t as bad this time, we were ambushed once,” Sokka replies with a shrug. “But I saved the day,” he smugly adds, eyes flickering down to his sword.

The way Iroh laughs is akin to the way a pot of tea boils, starting from the bottom with a rumbling heat, and eventually travelling upwards to release a wheezing steam. “That’s good.” He knowingly tilts his head towards Zuko.

“Oh no,” Sokka says, struggling to keep his voice level. “We are not having this conversation.”

“Sokka,” Iroh sighs, “I don’t need to have the conversation to know what’s written all over your face,” he gets up to clean a customer’s table, passing Sokka the used teapot. “But you are having a tough time not being able to sort through these feelings because you’re constantly being bombarded by the cause of them.”

“Ugh,” Sokka conceeds, “You’re right- I mean, how the hell was I supposed to know that going on a trip for half a year with Zuko would make me realise I’m in love with him?!” He frustratedly scrubs the teapot, much to Iroh’s amusement.

“You are lucky I had those teapots glazed,” Iroh chuckles. “Why not try telling him?”

Sokka laughs so loud that Zuko immediately runs into the kitchen, flame in hand. “Is something wrong?”

Iroh coughs in order to stifle his laughter. “Nothing, we were just talking about how long Sokka has been waiting for you,” he gravely announces. “He’s about to die a lonely man.”

Zuko frowns. “Oh, I didn’t mean to keep you waiting, it’s just I forget I’m the Fire lord when I’m with-“ He quickly looks away from Sokka, “you... guys.”

“Oh spirits,” Iroh chortles, walking out of the kitchen to greet a customer. “Good luck, Sokka!”


	4. iv) republic city

“You’re a sight for sore eyes,” A voice pipes up behind Sokka, which makes him yelp.

Sokka laughs, “Toph? You know, I almost didn’t recognise you... have you grown?”

Toph punches Sokka in the arm a little too hard, causing him to shriek. She says, through gritted teeth, “Oh, _Sokka_ , how I’ve missed you.”

Sokka laughs nervously, nursing his arm, and Aang suddenly appears from a nearby alleyway on top of a ball of air, followed by a few stray cabbages. He yells from metres above Sokka, “I came as soon as I saw the Fire Nation carriage! How have you been?!”

“The last few months have been amazing! It’s a lot nicer travelling around the world without worrying about whether you’ll master all the elements in order to save us from doom, you know?” Sokka says, nonchalantly. 

Aang nods, smile still plastered onto his face. “I understand!” He looks around, craning his neck past Sokka. “Oh,” he says, “I thought Zuko would be here too.”

“Oh,” Sokka echoes, “Why? He’s meeting with the new President today,” he adds, airily.

“Twinkle toes has a point,” Toph scoffs, unimpressed at Sokka’s attempt to act indifferent. “You’re always glued at the hip,” she teases, nudging Sokka with her elbow.

Aang, as oblivious as ever, agrees. “Yeah, it’s like you’re a couple or something,” Aang says casually, as if this was a discussion about the weather. 

Sokka’s face turns red as he asks, his voice pitched, “What!?”

“ _Chill out_ ,” Toph cackles, “If Aang doesn’t know, then Zuko sure as hell doesn’t!”

“That doesn’t make me feel better,” Sokka grumbles, scowling at the way Toph clutches her stomach in laughter and how Aang tilts his head innocently, switching his gaze between Sokka and Toph in confusion.

Aang blinks for a moment, then gasps in realisation. “ _Oh_ ,” he says, sheepishly. 

“You guys are the worst,” Sokka seethes, grumpily crossing his arms, and pouting. 

“And that makes you the worst of us for sticking around,” Toph crows, slapping Sokka’s back for good measure. “Lighten up! You’re acting like it’s the end of the world!”

Aang pipes in, “Yeah!” He sets himself on the ground. “For what it’s worth, I think Zuko does really care about you and what you think! I mean, he did bring you as his water tribe ambassador, right? He didn’t ask Katara or your dad!” He grabs Sokka’s shoulders and says, “He asked you!”

“That’s true,” Sokka sighs. “He did ask me,” he recalls, remembering how red Zuko’s face was during that moment. 

Aang giggles, “I mean it was less asking and more like-“

“Ahem,” Toph says, mimicking Zuko. She lifts up her chin at Sokka and continues, “Hey, Sokka, I need you and your big muscles to protect me from any potential enemies even though I’m a firebender _and_ trained in dual sword fighting, and could take them on myself.”

Aang howls in laughter, “We all assumed it was gonna be Katara-“ He gasps. “Is that why you ran up ahead to meet him that day? So you could get dibs?”

“No!” Sokka shrieks. Aang and Toph raise their eyebrows in disbelief. “Maybe...”

“So stop moping,” Toph moans. “Just kiss him already so I can stop feeling this negative energy and pining, it makes me sick.”

“Look, I’ve had bad luck in the past when trying to court with royalty,” Sokka quietly replies. 

“Well good thing Zuko’s not gonna turn into the sun anytime soon, and there’s no war conveniently stopping you now,” Toph replies. “You know we just wanna see you happy or whatever.”

Aang agrees, summoning Appa with his whistle. “Yeah, we’ll support you no matter what you choose - but for what it’s worth, I don’t think I’ve heard Zuko laugh as much as he does when he’s with you.”

“Thanks guys,” Sokka says with a watery smile. He laughs as Toph buries her head against Sokka’s chest with a groan.

“Come on,” Toph says, just as emotional, “This is even worse than before, you big babies!” But she wraps her arms around Sokka all the same and lets Aang do the same. “If you see me crying, you are _wrong_.”


	5. v) the southern water tribe

“ _Ugh_ , now I know what Iroh was talking about before your trip.” Katara gently flicks Sokka’s cheek with her water whip. “Pay _attention_!”

“ _Hey_!” Sokka shrieks. “I was!”

“Yeah,” Katara laughs, “to _Zuko_ , not me!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Sokka hisses.

“It means that you’re still too much of a coward to tell Zuko how you feel about him! Just tell him like how Aang told me!”

“That’s easy for you to say, Aang’s been in love with you for years!” Sokka rolls his eyes. “He would literally jump into a burning volcano for you if you asked.”

“And you’re acting like Zuko hasn’t done that for you?” Katara retorts. “Not even after a full week of properly meeting you? And he didn’t ask! He just declared he’d come with you!”

“He-“ Sokka begins, but is reminded of when Zuko helped Sokka rescue his dad and Suki. “Huh.”

“Aang told me a while back that Zuko said he practically watched your tent all night,” Katara casually recalls, while practising her waterbending. “He said he was so nervous in gaining your trust.”

“Was he?” Sokka quickly darts his gaze back to Zuko for a moment.

“Yeah,” Katara giggles. “You make him all kinds of nervous, Sokka!”

“Wow,” Sokka replies, properly looking back at Zuko this time with a smile. “I do, don’t I?”

Katara rolls her eyes. “ _Ugh_ , you give me such whiplash sometimes.”

Zuko looks back at Sokka with a look of pure terror. “ _Help_ ,” he mouths, and he clumsily tumbles into the snow.

“We defeated the Firelord!” A voice shouts, and a loud crowd responds by cheering and throwing snowballs at Zuko.

“Sokka! Help me!” Zuko yelps. 

“Is that an order, _your majesty_?” Sokka hollers in a teasing manner.

“ _Sokka_!” Zuko whines.

“Pffft,” Katara responds. “I didn’t realise how tough diplomacy was until now, you guys really are hard at work, huh?”

“Shut up, Katara,” Sokka hisses, giving her the middle finger as he jogs off to help Zuko from underneath a pile of snow and water tribe children.


End file.
